Su Yuan stared into Zhaozhao's innocent eyes, free of any impurities, and for a moment, he was lost in thought.
He was Ying Long, the ancient dragon sovereign. Having lived for so many years, there were countless people who sought something from him. Everyone, whether human or demon, always treated him with utmost respect. In the eyes of outsiders, he seemed to be at the pinnacle of glory and didn't need anyone's concern.
As time went by, even Su Yuan himself came to believe this.
But no one knew that as the only Ying Long in the world, in the human realm, he was a demon, forever separated from humans by an insurmountable chasm.
In the demon realm, he was born without parents, a child of nature, with no clan. The world was so vast, yet Su Yuan couldn't find his connection to it.
For thousands of years, Su Yuan had been walking alone in this world. There was a natural barrier between him and all humans and demons.
This was the first time someone had so simply and purely cared whether he was tired or not.
Zhaozhao didn't get a reply. She waved her hand in front of Su Yuan's eyes. "Huh? What are you thinking about? Why don't you answer me?"
Su Yuan snapped out of his reverie. The words he was about to blurt out were suddenly changed at the last moment. "It's nothing. Let's go back first. Song Yao and the Night Hag should have already returned to the palace. We need to hurry up too."
After saying that, he walked up to the tree, used his magic to shrink the aura - emitting tree and held it in his palm. Then he turned around and walked towards the cave entrance.
The whole process was smooth and seamless, and he didn't even glance at Zhaozhao beside him.
Zhaozhao's eyes followed Su Yuan everywhere. She tilted her head, extremely curious. So was he tired or not? Why didn't he answer her? What a strange demon...
Zhaozhao shook her head and trotted to catch up.
Not long after Zhaozhao and Su Yuan left, a man suddenly appeared out of thin air at the place where the tree had been taken away by Su Yuan.
"The Ying Long's scales are all on her... Tsk, it seems it won't be easy to get them." The man shook his head regretfully.
He squatted down and drew a formation on the ground where the dead tree had originally grown. Suddenly, a vine sprang up from the ground and turned into a seed in a moment, falling into his palm.
"Ah, it's not a total loss. At least I found the stolen seed—"
But the seed flashed twice and suddenly lost its luster, turning into a pebble.
The man raised his eyebrows. "Tsk, it's fake... A Qing, you're really making things difficult for me. I'll have to cause you a little trouble."
He put away the "seed", stood up, and murmured as he looked in the direction where Su Yuan and Zhaozhao had left. "Zhaozhao? So her name is Zhaozhao?"
---
After Zhaozhao and Su Yuan returned to the palace, Song Yao and the Night Hag A Qing were indeed there.
Song Yao seemed to have adjusted her state. She was now surrounded by a group of children, who were chattering and asking her questions.
A Qing, the Night Hag, was the first to notice their return. She stood up and bowed in front of Su Yuan. Seeing this, Song Yao dismissed the children and followed suit.
Su Yuan's calm gaze fell on her. "The matter is clear. When will you lift the illusion here and come back with me to the Demon Administration Bureau to admit your guilt?"
Su Yuan asked this to give A Qing a chance. Otherwise, he would have easily broken this illusion maintained by such a simple spell.
A Qing smiled bitterly. "Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from you."
Hearing their conversation, Song Yao was greatly shocked. Seeing Zhaozhao looking calm beside her, she whispered to Zhaozhao somewhat awkwardly. "Why are you so calm? You also know this is an illusion?"
Zhaozhao nodded honestly. "Yes, I know."
Song Yao was in a complex mood. "How... did you know?!"
Zhaozhao was surprised to find that her cousin didn't know something for once. She suddenly became a little excited and told Song Yao. "Because there's no wind here! We've been here for so long, and I haven't felt even a hint of wind. I once read in a book given by my master that an illusion can only create tangible things that the eyes can see, but it can't create natural things. Things like wind and rain won't exist in an illusion. Even if they do, you won't feel them. So I knew!"
After hearing this, Song Yao looked down at her own hands. It took her a long time to say. "It turns out you're not a fool. You really know a lot."
The foolish one was herself, wasn't it?
Song Yao used to be among the top students in learning magic in the Xuanmen. Because of her family background, many people let her win and doted on her. It was only at this moment that she realized how ridiculous her proud skills were.
Since coming to Posuo Village, every time she acted impulsively, she had to rely on that little fool to save her. What on earth had she been so proud of before?
Song Yao slowly let out a breath. She didn't have the mood to listen to the rest of the conversation. She turned around and walked away dejectedly.
Zhaozhao watched Song Yao leave in low spirits. She didn't understand why her cousin, who had been fine just now, suddenly became unhappy. She instinctively looked for Su Yuan, hoping to get an answer from him.
Looking at Zhaozhao's eyes full of confusion, Su Yuan suddenly wondered if she could still maintain her innocence if she were to go out into the world in the future.
He didn't answer Zhaozhao's question. Instead, he gave her a business card. "I work at the Demon Administration Bureau. If you don't want to go back to the Xuanmen in the future, you can come and try at the Demon Administration Bureau." Then he turned around and left, taking away a bit of inexplicable uneasiness.
The moment Su Yuan handed out the business card, many thoughts flashed through his mind.
In the end, he told himself that he did this only because Zhaozhao had a special identity. If the tree was useless, keeping her by his side might be good for his karmic sins.
Zhaozhao pouted as she held the business card. She thought to herself, why were they all so strange today?
At night, Zhaozhao obediently leaned on the luxurious big bed in the room and watched TV. She stared curiously with wide - open eyes at the male and female leads on the idol drama on the screen who were about to kiss.
Yes, she was still in this illusory palace tonight. After Su Yuan made his request, A Qing said she still had something to say to the little girls and begged Su Yuan to give her one more night. Su Yuan agreed.
This TV was provided by A Qing to keep the girls from getting bored.
Song Yao seemed to be in a strange mood tonight. She didn't seem willing to sleep with Zhaozhao and went to another room.
On the TV, the male and female leads had already finished kissing. The beautiful female lead was breathing slightly heavily. Teased by the male lead, she shyly called out "husband".
Hearing this familiar address, Zhaozhao's mind flashed with Su Yuan's face. Suddenly, she clapped her hands. She understood!
No wonder Su Yuan didn't let her call him husband. It turned out that they had to kiss like this first!
Zhaozhao, who thought she had made a great discovery, felt a bit self - satisfied. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Zhaozhao thought Song Yao was finally willing to talk to her. She couldn't wait to jump out of bed and open the door. But it was A Qing behind the door.
A Qing gave her a smile. "Won't you let me come in and sit down?"
Zhaozhao quickly stepped aside. "Ah, come in."
A Qing walked into the room and sat down without any courtesy. Her eyes boldly sized up Zhaozhao, making Zhaozhao feel very uncomfortable.
Just as Zhaozhao was about to ask what she wanted, A Qing spoke.
She said, "I know you're a demon, and... you're a tree demon."
Zhaozhao's face instantly turned pale. She took a defensive step back and assumed a defensive posture.
A Qing chuckled. "Don't you want to ask how I know?"
Zhaozhao's voice was a bit hoarse. She followed her words and asked, "How do you know?"